Understanding the Planning Stage of Web Design.

admin July 26th, 2017

As web designers in Melbourne, we’ve helped a lot of companies with their websites. Whether we’ve created a website from scratch, designed killer landing pages, or set up a microsite for a particular campaign, we’ve designed a lot.

That’s why you can trust us when we say that planning your web design is absolutely critical. It’s not a falsehood when someone tells you to spend as much time planning your new website as you will building it. Really getting to the nitty-gritty of each planning goal is so vital for the success of your design.

Set Some Goals (and Kick Them!)

SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic and Timely. Make sure your goals are well-laid out, with an ability to track success, as well as actually doable in a reasonable period of time. Might seem like first-semester stuff, I know, but you’d be amazed how often companies want to dive straight in.

Work hard to define your goals from a SMART-perspective and you’ll give yourself the best possible measure of your success.

Who’s Your Audience? (Who’s Coming to Watch You Play?)

So, you’ve decided you want a website, right? And I imagine you’ve set some excellently measurable goals, yeah? But who are we trying to attract to this crowning glory that is your online hub?

If you can’t define your audience for the designer, then they won’t know who to design the website for. You might be lucky and feel like the old website is talking to the right people but just needs a kick up the butt to turn those users into customers. Regardless, can you define who they are?

Demographics are great, browsing habits are better; honestly, anything can help the designer to create the best possible website for your business.

User-Friendly is Important (Play Nice!)

This goes beyond simple mobile-optimisation (though we’ve had plenty to say about this topic in the past), and instead looks at user-experience. You need to make sure that the design of your new website takes advantage of a clean and simple outline, easily navigatable for users to get exactly what they want.

White space and big fonts are some very simple but effective ways to make it easier for users. Beyond that, it just needs to be simple to move from page to page, to access and engage with content, and to engage with your brand in general (either through subscription or commenting. Without, you’re going to have a bad time.

Be Prepared For Launch (Pre- and Post-game are equally important)

Why would you go through all this effort without a plan for post-launch success? Yes, set goals and find an audience now, but what about when it’s launched? What are you going to do when it’s ready?

Marketing is critical for pushing your new website out to the world, so engaging in search engine optimisation or pay per click advertising is a sensible option. More than that, readying your business operations for more calls, increases transaction, anything that could be affected by this is critical. But most importantly, be ready for follow-up communication to ensure that any issues that arise post-launch are resolved and that the next stages are confirmed as well.

Planning For The Whole Iceberg, Not Just the Tip

Web designers in Melbourne can sometimes be just as excited as the client and may want to push ahead with everything else with the campaign. But be patient and prepare and plan for the road ahead and it’ll be a smoother, more rewarding experience for all. To find out about our website design services, click here or contact us for more information!